Roofing
Innovations enhance
roof window style and performance
The distinctive style that FAKRO pitched roof windows provide stems from a combination of sleek frames and a correspondingly bigger glazing area. This has been achieved by placing the vent in the top of the frame and operating handle in the base of the sash, enabling windows to be placed higher in the roof line but still opened by hand. Consistent innovation has also prompted ongoing design improvements to incorporate such features as warm spacers between panes, shrink-resistant seals to ensure retention of airtightness and the patented topSafe®
anti-burglary system of
hinge and lock reinforcement. Vacuum preservative treatment of all timber also ensures that their visual aesthetic will be retained for years to come.
The introduction of similarly contemporary flat roof window designs has kept FAKRO ahead of its competitors. The types C and F windows brought a distinctive visual aesthetic to such products for the first time and the subsequent introduction of ‘ColourLine’ has given an added specification option by enabling outer cladding to be specified in any RAL colour from the ‘Classic Palette’. Whether to blend with a green roof, terrace landscaping or the chosen roof covering scope has, therefore, been provided to use flat roof windows and rooflights as design features in their own right. Thermally efficient triple and quadruple-glazed units are available as standard, the DEC U8 domed window having a U-value of 0.55 W/m2
K and the traditional DEF U8 one of 0.76 W/m2 windows can at last be used in Passivhaus and EnerPHit®
K flat roof designs.
From an interior perspective, home owners frequently comment on how FAKRO windows have been used to provide a focal point of their interior design and now this can apply equally to exteriors. With the introduction of the DXW window the option exists to install a window flush within a roof terrace so that it can be walked on. Its wear-resistant, anti-slip surface is supported by a reinforced sash, frame, laminated glazing and an insulation-filled, multi-chamber PVC frame. As with all the windows in FAKRO’s flat roof range, this makes a major contribution to the window’s excellent U-value. The PVC sash and frame also provide the added flexibility of use in bathrooms, kitchens and wetrooms.
Taking a completely different design perspective, the FAKRO EFR Gable System bridges the gap between pitched and flat roofing. It provides an easy-to-install due pitch in flat roof extensions without imposing the level of structural loading that many would be unable to withstand. Modules of four or more standard FAKRO windows in combination are installed on pitches of up to 15°.
Whether for flat or pitched roofing projects, design complexity is increasing and, with improved Building Regulations and Standards such as Passivhaus, this is putting pressure on roof window manufacturers to improve thermal efficiency. Without this, it is almost inconceivable, in the UK at least, to think that a quadruple-glazed roof window would be available as a standard product. The pitched roof FTT U8 and flat roof DEC U8 offer the market’s lowest U-values and are so advanced that their sister product, the triple-glazed flat roof DEF U6, has just been given a Red Dot Design Award. In their 62nd year, the awards are given by Design Zentrum of Essen and are considered by many to be the ‘Oscars of Industrial Design’. The latest awards attracted 5214 entries from 57 countries.
With bespoke elements of design and performance now regularly met by FAKRO’s team of more than 100 engineers, the company continues to push the boundaries of innovation. Such differentiation can only be a good thing as it encourages specifiers and self-builders in particular to examine more how they can use roof windows in their designs.
FAKRO
TEL: 01283 554755 9
WWW.FAKRO.CO.UK
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